Virtual worship has become common these days – even more so since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Most churches offer some form of virtual worship experience. But I would suggest that in most cases, attending virtual services is not “okay” for gameday worship.
“No One Can Serve Two Masters…”
Most people are familiar with Jesus’ statement in Matthew 6 that no one can serve two masters. Because of the context, however, they tend to apply His teaching primarily to our view of money and material goods. That’s understandable; Jesus closed that thought by referencing “Mammon,” the pagan god of money and material wealth. But His teaching is much boards. His statement that no one can serve two masters can apply to any two things – or people. You can’t serve God and money, fame, power, pleasure, or anything else.
And you can’t serve God and your favorite sports team. “Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other” (Matthew 6:24). As if to confirm this, Jesus says a few verses later that we are to seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33). It’s a question of priorities; what holds first place in our lives?
Super Bowl Sunday
Back in the days when many churches still had Sunday evening services, many struggled with what to do on “Super Bowl Sunday.” Do we cancel our service, because everyone is going to stay home to watch the game? Do we “hold the line,” even if no one shows up? Or do we schedule a watch party for after the service, and try to have the best of both worlds?
The fact that I had to say “back in the days when many churches still had Sunday evening services” demonstrates that this particular issue is probably moot. We don’t have Sunday evening services, so we aren’t faced with the question of canceling them. (And, for the record, I’m not suggesting that we should go back to having Sunday evening services. If there is a particular purpose for them – if they’re meeting a specific need – then, by all means, have them! But to have them just for the sake of saying that we’re having a worship service focuses too much on our effort and actions and not enough on God. But I digress.)
Is Virtual Worship Okay for Gameday?
The underlying issue still remains, though: what are our priorities? That brings us back to the question this post addresses: is virtual worship okay for game day? As you can hopefully tell if you’ve read this far, my answer is “no.” But why? Again, priorities. If we feel comfortable choosing virtual worship in order to attend a sporting event, where do we draw the line? What else might we deem to be “important enough” to forego in-person worship?
- Is it okay to watch church on TV in order to be home in time to watch a sporting event on TV?
- Can we attend church virtually so we can work on something at home at the same time?
- Do we skip in-person worship because we have visitors?
- What about if there’s “something else” we really want to do?
The list could go on and on, and that’s the point. If we’re willing to subordinate in-person worship to something else, anything will do.
You see, if we’ve decided that virtual worship is a valid substitute for in-person worship, we can “use” virtual worship for any reason. But virtual worship is not the same as in-person worship. Virtual worship is better than nothing, but it’s not the equivalent of gathering with God’s people in His house to worship Him. That makes sense when you think about it. Why do people want to go to “the big game” instead of watching it on TV? Because the experience is different!
Why Attending Virtual Worship Is not Okay for Gameday
But not only is the “experience” different; the purpose is different. If we view worship as simply an opportunity to sing some songs and hear a message, we will probably see little difference between virtual worship and in-person worship. But worship is far more than just singing some songs and hearing a message! We come together as God’s people for worship to:
- Bear witness to the world that God is worthy of our praise and our devotion
- Minister to one another
- Be ministered to
- Fellowship together as the body of Christ
- Pray together
The early believers “were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayer…Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved” (Acts 2:42, 46-47).
In-person worship is different because God’s people are coming together in His presence to honor Him. Gathering for worship is not an option; it is a priority. That doesn’t mean that we worship out of some legalistic sense that we “have” to do it; we do so because we recognize how good God has been to us. So while we might choose to attend that big game in person, we shouldn’t make a habit of choosing other things over in-person worship. “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst” (Matthew 18:20).
If you like this article, please share your thoughts below. I am interested in hearing your perspective on this topic.
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